Method and apparatus for automatically terminating a call

ABSTRACT

Systems and techniques for automatically terminating a call in a communications system involve a first subscriber unit originating a call to a second subscriber unit and terminating the call when the second subscriber unit rings.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. §120

The present Application for Patent is a Continuation of patentapplication Ser. No. 10/174,222 entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FORAUTOMATICALLY TERMINATING A CALL” filed Jun. 17, 2002, now allowed, andassigned to the assignee hereof and hereby expressly incorporated byreference herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The disclosed embodiments relate generally to the field ofcommunications, and more specifically to methods and apparatus forautomatically terminating a call in a communication system.

2. Background

The field of communications has many applications including, e.g.,paging, wireless local loops, Internet telephony, and satellitecommunication systems. An exemplary application is a cellular telephonesystem for mobile subscribers. (As used herein, the term “cellular”system encompasses both cellular and personal communications services(PCS) system frequencies.) Modem communication systems designed to allowmultiple users to access a common communications medium have beendeveloped for such cellular systems. These modem communication systemsmay be based on code division multiple access (CDMA), time divisionmultiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), spacedivision multiple access (SDMA), polarization division multiple access(PDMA), or other modulation techniques known in the art. Thesemodulation techniques demodulate signals received from multiple users ofa communication system, thereby enabling an increase in the capacity ofthe communication system. In connection therewith, various wirelesssystems have been established including, e.g., Advanced Mobile PhoneService (AMPS), Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), and someother wireless systems.

In FDMA systems, the total frequency spectrum is divided into a numberof smaller sub-bands and each user is given its own sub-band to accessthe communication medium. Alternatively, in TDMA systems, each user isgiven the entire frequency spectrum during periodically recurring timeslots. A CDMA system provides potential advantages over other types ofsystems, including increased system capacity. In CDMA systems, each useris given the entire frequency spectrum for all of the time, butdistinguishes its transmission through the use of a unique code.

A CDMA system may be designed to support one or more CDMA standards suchas (1) the “TIA/EIA-95-B Mobile Station-Base Station CompatibilityStandard for Dual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular System” (theIS-95 standard), (2) the standard offered by a consortium named “3rdGeneration Partnership Project” (3GPP) and embodied in a set ofdocuments including Document Nos. 3G TS 25.211, 3G TS 25.212, 3G TS25.213, and 3G TS 25.214 (the W-CDMA standard), (3) the standard offeredby a consortium named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2) andembodied in “TR-45.5 Physical Layer Standard for cdma2000 SpreadSpectrum Systems” (the IS-2000 standard), and (4) some other standards.

In the above named CDMA communication systems and standards, theavailable spectrum is shared simultaneously among a number of users, andtechniques such as soft handoff are employed to maintain sufficientquality to support delay-sensitive services, such as voice. Dataservices are also available. More recently, systems have been proposedthat enhance the capacity for data services by using higher ordermodulation, very fast feedback of Carrier to Interference ratio (C/I)from a mobile station, very fast scheduling, and scheduling for servicesthat have more relaxed delay requirements. An example of such adata-only communication system using these techniques, is the high datarate (HDR) system that conforms to the TIA/EIA/IS-856 standard (theIS-856 standard).

In contrast to the other above named standards, an IS-856 system usesthe entire spectrum available in each cell to transmit data to a singleuser at one time. One factor used in determining which user is served islink quality. By using link quality as a factor for selecting which useris served, the system spends a greater percentage of time sending dataat higher rates when the channel is good, and thereby avoids committingresources to support transmission at inefficient rates. The net effectis higher data capacity, higher peak data rates, and higher averagethroughput.

Systems can incorporate support for delay-sensitive data, such as voicechannels or data channels supported in the IS-2000 standard, along withsupport for packet data services such as those described in the IS-856standard. One such system is described in a proposal submitted by LGElectronics, LSI Logic, Lucent Technologies, Nortel Networks, QUALCOMMIncorporated, and Samsung to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2(3GPP2). The proposal is detailed in documents entitled “Updated JointPhysical Layer Proposal for 1EV-DV”, submitted to 3GPP2 as documentnumber C50-20010611-009, Jun. 11, 2001; “Results of L3NQS SimulationStudy”, submitted to 3GPP2 as document number C50-20010820-011, Aug. 20,2001; and “System Simulation Results for the L3NQS Framework Proposalfor cdma2000 1x-EVDV”, submitted to 3GPP2 as document numberC50-20010820-012, Aug. 20, 2001. These are hereinafter referred to asthe 1-DV proposal.

All of the aforementioned standards do not include a feature thatenables automated termination of a call attempt. A call is a connectionbetween two endpoints in a communications system. At one endpoint, afirst user (also called a calling party) on a first subscriber stationinitiates a call. At another endpoint, a second user (also called acalled party) on a second subscriber station receives an indication ofthe incoming call. In addition, the second user may also receive anindication of the identity of the first user, which the second user isable to determine if the second subscriber station has a caller-IDfeature (or equivalent feature).

Typically, the second user will hear a ring on the second subscriberstation indicating an incoming call. A first user may want to merelyring the second user and not talk with the second user. In this case,the first user tries to manually terminate the call by for example“hanging up” on the second user before the second user answers the call.However, the second user may answer the call before the first usermanually terminates the call, which frustrates the first user's purposefor initiating the call. Thus, there is a need in the art for a featurethat enables automated termination of a call, which would enable usersto ring other users without risking that the call would be answered.

SUMMARY

Embodiments disclosed herein address the need for a feature that enablesautomated termination of a call. The disclosed embodiments providemethods and system elements that implement various aspects of theinvention, as described in further detail below.

Embodiments disclosed herein address the above stated needs by providinga method and apparatus for automatically terminating a call. In oneaspect, a method of communications comprises originating a call andindicating termination of the call, and terminating automatically thecall responsive to the indicated termination of the call.

In another aspect, a method of communications comprises sending a callmessage that initiates a call; sending a call notification messageresponsive to the call message, the call notification message providingnotification of the call, sending a confirmation message responsive tothe call notification message, the confirmation message confirmingreceipt of the call notification message, sending a ringing messageresponsive to the confirmation message, the ringing message indicatingringing, sending automatically a termination message responsive to theconfirmation message, and sending a corresponding termination messageresponsive to the termination message.

In another aspect, a method of communications comprises receiving amessage that initiates a call with an indication to terminate the calland terminating the call responsive to receiving the message thatinitiates the call with an indication to terminate the call.

In another aspect, a method of communications comprises receiving a callmessage that initiates a call, receiving an indication that the call isa ring-only call, sending a call notification message responsive to thecall message, the call notification message providing notification ofthe call, and sending a termination message responsive to the indicationthat the call is a ring-only call, the termination message terminatingthe call.

In another aspect, a subscriber station comprises a call originationunit configured to originate a call and indicate termination of thecall, and a terminating unit configured to terminate the callautomatically.

In another aspect, a subscriber station comprises means for originatinga call, means for indicating termination of the call, and means forterminating the call automatically.

In another aspect, a subscriber station comprises a receive unit thatreceives a message that initiates a call with an indication to terminatethe call, and a terminating unit that terminates the call responsive toreceiving the message that initiates the call with an indication toterminate the call.

In another aspect, a subscriber station comprises means for receiving amessage that initiates a call with an indication to terminate the call,and means for terminating the call responsive to receiving the messagethat initiates the call with an indication to terminate the call.

In another aspect, a network comprises a receive unit configured toreceive a call message that initiates a call and receive an indicationthat the call is a ring-only call, and a send unit configured to send acall notification message responsive to the call message, the callnotification message providing notification of the call, and configuredto send a termination message responsive to the indication that the callis a ring-only call, the termination message terminating the call.

In another aspect, a communications system comprises a first subscriberstation configured to create and send a message that initiates a calland configured to create and send automatically a termination messageresponsive to a message indicating ringing, the termination messageterminating the call; and a second subscriber station configured to ringupon receiving the message that initiates a call and configured to senda message indicating ringing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of an exemplary communicationssystem;

FIG. 2 illustrates a message flow diagram for manual termination of acall when a user merely wants to ring a second user and does not want totalk to the second user;

FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of acommunications system, wherein the first user only wants to ring thesecond user and a call is terminated automatically;

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of acommunications system, wherein an indication of automatic calltermination is indicated in a message;

FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a CDMAcommunications system, wherein the first user only wants to ring thesecond user and a call is terminated automatically;

FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a CDMAcommunications system, wherein an indication of automatic calltermination is indicated in a message;

FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram of a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)communications system, wherein a media session is created between afirst user on a first subscriber station and a second user on a secondsubscriber station;

FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a SIPcommunications system, wherein the first user only wants to ring thesecond user and a call is terminated automatically;

FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a SIPcommunications system, wherein an indication of automatic calltermination is indicated in a message; and

FIG. 10 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of acommunications system, wherein an indication of automatic calltermination is indicated in a message and a second subscriber stationterminates a call.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention and is not intended to represent the only embodimentsin which the present invention can be practiced. The term “exemplary”used throughout this description means “serving as an example, instance,or illustration,” and should not necessarily be construed as preferredor advantageous over other embodiments. The detailed descriptionincludes specific details for the purpose of providing a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent tothose skilled in the art that the present invention may be practicedwithout these specific details. In some instances, well-known structuresand devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuringthe concepts of the present invention.

In an exemplary embodiment of a communications system, a communicationsdevice can access a network, or communicate with other devices. Thenetwork can be a packet-based network, such as the Internet or acorporate Intranet, public switched telephone network (PSTN), or anyother suitable network. An access network can be used to provide awireless interface between the communications device and the network. Anaccess network may take on various forms including, by way of example,one or more base stations in communication with a base stationcontroller. The exemplary communications system can support variouscommunications devices, including mobile or stationary subscriberstations.

A subscriber station can also be called a subscriber unit, mobilestation, mobile, remote station, remote terminal, access terminal, userterminal, user agent, or user equipment. A subscriber station may be acellular telephone, cordless telephone, a computer or other processingdevice connected to a wireless modem, a wireless local loop (WLL)station, or a personal digital assistant (PDA) or handheld device havingwireless connection capability. A subscriber station may also be aSession Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, cell phone, or computer.

Although various aspects of the present invention will be described inthe context of a CDMA communications system, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the techniques for automatically terminating a calldescribed herein are likewise suitable for use in various othercommunications environments including communications systems based onTDMA, FDMA, SDMA, PDMA, and other modulation techniques known in theart, and communications systems based on standards including AMPS, GSM,HDR, and various CDMA standards, and other communication standards knownin the art. Accordingly, any reference to a CDMA communications systemis intended only to illustrate the inventive aspects of the presentinvention, with the understanding that such inventive aspects have awide range of applications.

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of an exemplary communicationssystem 100 capable of operating in accordance with any of the CDMAcommunication system standards while incorporating various embodimentsof the invention. The exemplary communications system is a modulationand multiple access scheme based on spread-spectrum communications.

Communications system 100 may be for communications of voice, data orboth. A base station controller 102 can be used to provide an interfacebetween a network 104 and all base stations dispersed throughout ageographic region. For ease of explanation, only one base station 106 isshown. The geographic region is generally subdivided into smallerregions known as cells. Each base station is configured to serve allsubscriber stations in its respective cell. In some high trafficapplications, the cell may be divided into sectors with a base stationserving each sector. Three subscriber stations 108 a-c are shown incommunication with the base station 106. Each subscriber station 108 a-cmay access the network, or communicate with other subscriber stations,through one or more base stations under the control of the base stationcontroller 102. In at least one embodiment, the communications system100 supports high rate data and high quality voice services overwireless communications channels.

The exemplary communications system 100 supports two-way communicationsbetween the base station 106 and the subscriber stations 108 a-c.Transmissions from the base station to a subscriber station are referredto as a forward link, and transmissions from a subscriber station to thebase station is referred to as a reverse link.

The communications between the base stations and the subscriber stationsin communications system 100 may include communications of voice anddata. Such a communication link also includes communications of controlmessages for establishing, maintaining and terminating the flow of databetween the base stations and the subscriber stations. The controlinformation may be in a form of a stream of messages that arecommunicated between the source and destination. The controlinformation, therefore, may be processed through a signaling protocollayer.

Subscriber stations may be used to perform functions in addition toperforming voice calls or data calls. A very popular use of subscriberstations is, for example, short message service (SMS) messaging. SMSmessaging enables short character messages to be transmitted betweensubscriber stations and external systems such as electronic mail,paging, and voice-mail systems.

Another use of subscriber stations that is rapidly becoming morewidespread in Europe is the use of subscriber stations in a fashion thatis similar to pagers. In this context, subscriber station users areusing their subscriber stations “to ring” other subscriber stations. Afirst user of a first subscriber station initiates a call to a seconduser of a second subscriber station and the first user “hangs up,” i.e.,terminates the call, when the first user hears a ring tone (also calleda dial tone) indicating that the second subscriber station is ringing.Thus, the first user “rings” the second user.

When the first subscriber station calls the second subscriber station,the first subscriber station sends a call message to the secondsubscriber station. The call message indicates an incoming call to thesecond subscriber station. If the second subscriber station has acaller-ID feature (or equivalent feature), a common feature on cellularphones, the second subscriber station captures the identity of thecaller. Once captured, the second subscriber station indicates thecaller identity to the second user.

In the case where the captured identity of the caller is displayed, thesecond user could see, for example, a message like “Missed Call fromFirst User.” Such a displayed message may have different meaningsdepending on social context. For example, such a displayed message maymean that the first user is requesting a call back from the second user,which is analogous to the first user paging the second user, or thedisplayed message may be an indication to the second user to take someaction.

A first user performs the operation of terminating a call upon hearing aring tone when the first user only wants to ring the second user anddoes not want to talk with the second user. A first user terminates acall by indicating such on a user interface of the first subscriberstation. In cellular communications, the ring tone is not broadcast overthe air. The ring tone in the first subscriber station is generated bythe first subscriber station as soon as the network communicates to thefirst subscriber station that there is a connection with the secondsubscriber station and the second subscriber station is ringing.

FIG. 2 illustrates a message flow diagram for manual termination of acall when a user merely wants to ring a second user and does not want totalk to the second user.

In step 212, the first user 108 a dials the number of the second user108 b and originates a call. A call can be initiated by depressing acall button or in the case of a voice enabled subscriber station, a callcan be initiated by a voice command. A call message (also called arequest for call origination) is created and sent to a network 104.

In step 214, the network 104 receives the call message. The network 104finds the second user in a register of users and sends a page to thesecond user. That is, the network 104 sends a call notification messageto the second user. The call notification message indicates that thereis an incoming voice call for the second user.

In step 216, the second subscriber station receives the incoming callnotification message and begins ringing. An enabled caller ID feature onthe second subscriber station enables the first user's identity to bedisplayed on the second subscriber station.

In step 218, the second subscriber station sends a confirmation messageto the network 104. The confirmation message indicates that the secondsubscriber station acknowledges the second subscriber station's receiptof the incoming call.

Once the network 104 receives the confirmation message from the secondsubscriber station, the network 104 determines that that the first userand the second user can talk as soon as the second user answers thecall. Therefore, in step 220, the network 104 sends a ringing message tothe first user.

In step 222, a ringing tone is generated on the first subscriber station108 b upon its receipt of the ringing message and therefore the firstuser hears the ringing tone 108 b. Commonly, this means, for the firstuser that the second user's subscriber station 108 b is ringing.

If the first user actually wants to talk with the second user, the firstuser simply waits for the second user to answer the ring on the secondsubscriber station. If the first user only wants to ring the seconduser, then the first user indicates such on the second subscriberstation 108 b, i.e., the first user “hangs up.” Thus, the first usermanually terminates the call. The first user can manually terminate thecall by depressing a button. In a voice enabled subscriber station, thefirst user can manually terminate the call by issuing a voice command toterminate the call.

In step 224, a termination message is generated at the first subscriberstation 108 b and sent to the network 104. Then, in step 226, thenetwork 104 sends a corresponding termination message to the secondsubscriber station 108 b after the network 104 receives the terminationmessage from the first subscriber station 108 b.

In step 228, the call attempt is terminated at the second subscriberstation and the second subscriber station stops ringing when thetermination message from the network 104 is received. A display on thesecond subscriber station may display a message indicating a missed callfrom the second subscriber station 108 b.

In an exemplary embodiment of a communications system, the process bywhich a second subscriber station 108 b terminates a call upon theringing of a second subscriber station is automated. In at least oneexemplary embodiment of the communications system, as soon as the secondsubscriber station 108 b generates a ring tone, the call is terminatedautomatically. In contrast to having to depress a button or issue avoice command to terminate the call, the first user does not need topress or do anything after hearing a ring tone in order to terminate thecall.

The first user indicates automatic termination of a call on a userinterface of the first subscriber station as part of a call originationprocess. In an embodiment, automatic call termination is indicated bydepression of a button in conjunction with dialing of the second user.In another embodiment, automatic call termination is indicated byissuance of a voice command in conjunction with dialing of the seconduser. In yet another embodiment, automatic call termination is indicatedby a combination of depression of a button and issuance of a voicecommand in conjunction with dialing of the second user. Thus, the calleras part of the call origination process initiates the automatictermination of the call.

FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of acommunications system, wherein the first user only wants to ring thesecond user and a call is terminated automatically. In this embodiment,no changes to the air interface or to signaling messages are required inorder to implement automatic termination of a call. Therefore, the FIG.3 flow diagram looks like the FIG. 2 flow diagram, but the steps aredifferent.

In step 312, the first user 108 a originates a call that will ring thesecond user and will automatically be terminated upon the ringing of thesecond subscriber station 108 b. The call is originated by the firstuser 108 a dialing the number of the second user 108 b. The first user108 indicates on the user interface of the first subscriber station 108a that the call will automatically be terminated upon the ringing of thesecond subscriber station 108 b. Thus, a call message is created andsent to a network 104, but the first subscriber station 108 a hasalready identified the ongoing attempted call as a call that willautomatically be terminated upon the ringing of the second subscriberstation 108 b. The identification of the ongoing attempted call as acall that will automatically be terminated occurs on the firstsubscriber station and is not indicated in the call message sent to thenetwork 104.

In step 314, the network 104 receives the request for call origination,i.e., the call message. The network 104 includes a receive unitconfigured to receive the call message that initiates the call andconfigured to receive an indication that the call is a ring-only call.The network also includes a send unit configured to send a callnotification message responsive to the call message, the callnotification message providing notification of the call, and configuredto send a termination message responsive to the indication that the callis a ring-only call, the termination message terminating the call.

The network 104 finds the second user in a register of users and sends acall notification message to the second user. The call notificationmessage indicates to the second user that there is an incoming voicecall for the second user.

In step 316, the second subscriber station 108 b receives the incomingcall notification message and begins ringing. An enabled caller IDfeature on the second subscriber station 108 b enables the first user'sidentity to be displayed on the second subscriber station 108 b. In anembodiment, the captured identity of the caller is displayed on adisplay of the second subscriber station. Alternatively, the capturedidentity of the caller is announced by a speaker on the secondsubscriber station.

In step 318, the second subscriber station 108 b sends a confirmationmessage to the network 104. The confirmation message indicates that thesecond subscriber station 108 b acknowledges the second subscriberstation's 108 b receipt of the incoming call notification.

Once the network 104 receives the confirmation message from the secondsubscriber station 108 b, the network 104 determines that that the firstuser and the second user can talk as soon as the second user answers thecall. Therefore, in step 320, the network 104 sends a ringing message tothe first user.

In an embodiment, a ringing tone is generated on the first subscriberstation 108 a upon the first subscriber station's receipt of the ringingmessage and therefore the first user hears the ringing tone in step 322.Commonly, this means for the first user that the second user'ssubscriber station is ringing. In another embodiment, a ringing tone isnot generated on the first subscriber station 108 a upon the firstsubscriber station's 108 a receipt of the ringing message in step 322.

In step 324, a termination message is generated at the first subscriberstation 108 a and sent to the network 104 without requiring any actionby the first user 108 a. Then, in step 326, the network 104 sends acorresponding termination message to the second subscriber station 108 bafter the network 104 receives the termination message from the firstsubscriber station 108 a. Thus, the messages of steps 324 and 326 aretriggered automatically. Upon receipt of the ringing message from thenetwork 104, the termination messages of steps 324 and 326 are triggeredwithout the aid of the first user.

In step 328, the call attempt is terminated at the second subscriberstation 108 b and the second subscriber station 108 b stops ringing whenthe termination message from the network 104 is received. In anembodiment, a display on the second subscriber station 108 b displays amessage indicating a missed call from the first subscriber station 108a. In another embodiment, a message indicating a missed call from thefirst subscriber station 108 a is announced by a speaker on the secondsubscriber station.

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of acommunications system, wherein the first user only wants to ring thesecond user and a call is terminated automatically. In this embodiment,signaling messages are changed in order to implement automatictermination of a call. In step 412, when the first user determines thathe only wants to ring the second user, a flag is set indicating that thefirst user is only ringing the second user. The flag can be encodedwithin the call message.

In at least one exemplary embodiment of the communications system, thefirst user indicates via a user interface on the first subscriberstation 108 a that a ring of the second user and not a call of thesecond user is to be performed. That is, the second user is to be rungand not called.

In at least one exemplary embodiment of the communications system, thefirst user indicates that the second user will be rung with a mechanismactivated while dialing the number of the second user. In anotherexemplary embodiment of the communications system, the first userindicates that the second user will be rung with a mechanism separatefrom dialing the number of the second user. The mechanism distinguishesbetween the case wherein the first user wants to talk to the second userand the case wherein the first user wants only to ring the second user.In at least one exemplary embodiment of the communications system, themechanism is at least one button to be depressed. In another exemplaryembodiment, the mechanism is at least one key to be depressed. Inanother exemplary embodiment, the mechanism is at least one voicecommand to be issued in a voice enabled subscriber station. In at leastone exemplary embodiment, the mechanism is implemented via a Webinterface on the first subscriber station 108 a. If the mechanism isenabled, a pending call will automatically be terminated.

In step 414, the network 104 receives the call message. In anembodiment, the network 104 receives an indication that the user onlywants to ring the second user in the call message. In anotherembodiment, the network 104 receives an indication that the user onlywants to ring the second user in a message other than the call message.At this point, the network 104 can determine from the indication(hereinafter called a ring-only indication) that there is no need tosend a ringing message to the first subscriber station 108 a. Thenetwork 104 finds the second user in a register of users and sends aring-only indication to the second user. That is, the network 104 sendsa notification to the second user that the second user is to be rungonly.

In step 416, the second subscriber station 108 b receives the incomingring-only indication and begins ringing. An enabled caller ID feature onthe second subscriber station 108 b enables the first user's identity tobe displayed on the second subscriber station 108 b. In an embodiment,the captured identity of the caller is displayed on a display of thesecond subscriber station. In another embodiment, the captured identityof the caller is announced by a speaker on the second subscriberstation.

In step 418, the second subscriber station 108 b sends a confirmationmessage to the network 104. The confirmation message indicates that thesecond subscriber station 108 b acknowledges the second subscriberstation's 108 b receipt of the incoming ring-only indication.

In an embodiment, the network is not required to send a ringing messageto the first subscriber station 108 a, thereby saving bandwidth in acommunication channel from the network 104 to the first subscriberstation 108 a. Alternatively, the network may send a ringing message tothe first subscriber station 108 a.

FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a CDMAcommunications system, wherein the first user only wants to ring thesecond user and a call is terminated automatically. In this embodiment,no changes to the air interface or to signaling messages are required inorder to implement automatic termination of a call. Therefore, the FIG.5 flow diagram looks like the FIG. 2 flow diagram, but the steps aredifferent.

In step 512, the first user 108 a originates a call that will ring thesecond user and will automatically be terminated upon the ringing of thesecond subscriber station 108 b. The call is originated by the firstuser 108 a dialing the number of the second user 108 b. The first user108 indicates on the user interface of the first subscriber station 108a that the call will automatically be terminated upon the ringing of thesecond subscriber station 108 b. Thus, a call message (also called anOrigination Message) is created and sent to a network 104, but the firstsubscriber station 108 a has already identified the ongoing attemptedcall as a call that will automatically be terminated upon the ringing ofthe second subscriber station 108 b. The identification of the ongoingattempted call as a call that will automatically be terminated occurs onthe first subscriber station and is not indicated in the call messagesent to the network 104.

In step 514, the network 104 receives the request for call origination,i.e., the call message. The network 104 finds the second user in aregister of users and sends a page to the second user. That is, thenetwork 104 sends a call notification message (also called a PagingMessage) to the second user that there is an incoming voice call for thesecond user. Thus, the network 104 allocates a first communicationchannel with its attendant resources to the first subscriber station 108a and allocates a second communication channel with its attendantresources to the second subscriber station 108 b.

In step 515, a Channel Assignment Message is sent from the network 104to the first subscriber station 108 a. The Channel Assignment Messageassigns the first communication channel to the first subscriber station108 a. In an embodiment, the Channel Assignment Message is sent from thenetwork 104 to the first subscriber station 108 a before a ringingmessage is sent from the network 104 to the first subscriber station 108a. Alternatively, the Channel Assignment Message is sent from thenetwork 104 to the first subscriber station 108 a after a ringingmessage is sent from the network 104 to the first subscriber station 108a. Whether the Channel Assignment Message is sent from the network 104to the first subscriber station 108 a before or after a ringing messageis sent from the network 104 to the first subscriber station 108 a isimplementation dependent.

In step 516, the second subscriber station 108 b receives the incomingcall notification message and begins ringing. An enabled caller IDfeature on the second subscriber station 108 b enables the first user'sidentity to be displayed on the second subscriber station 108 b. In anembodiment, the captured identity of the caller is displayed on adisplay of the second subscriber station. Alternatively, the capturedidentity of the caller is announced by a speaker on the secondsubscriber station.

In step 518, the second subscriber station 108 b sends a confirmationmessage (also called a Page Response Message) to the network 104. Theconfirmation message indicates that the second subscriber station 108 backnowledges the second subscriber station's 108 b receipt of theincoming call notification.

Once the network 104 receives the confirmation message from the secondsubscriber station 108 b, the network 104 determines that that the firstuser and the second user can talk as soon as the second user answers thecall. Therefore, in step 520, the network 104 sends a ringing message tothe first user. In an embodiment, the ringing message is an Alert WithInformation Message that alerts the first user with informationregarding the ringing of the second subscriber station 108 b.

In an embodiment the Channel Assignment Message is sent by the network104 to the first subscriber station 108 a before the network 104 sendsthe ringing message to the first subscriber station 108 a.Alternatively, the Channel Assignment Message is sent by the network 104after the network 104 sends the ringing message to the first subscriberstation 108 a. In an embodiment, the network 104 does not send a ChannelAssignment Message to the first subscriber station 108 a.

In an embodiment, a ringing tone is generated on the first subscriberstation 108 a upon the first subscriber station's receipt of the ringingmessage and therefore the first user hears the ringing tone in step 522.Commonly, this means for the first user that the second user'ssubscriber station is ringing. In another embodiment, a ringing tone isnot generated on the first subscriber station 108 a upon the firstsubscriber station's 108 a receipt of the ringing message in step 522.

In step 524, a termination message (also called a Release Order) isgenerated at the first subscriber station 108 a and sent to the network104 without requiring any action by the first user 108 a. The networkreleases the first communication channel with its attendant resourcesthat was allocated to the first subscriber station 108 a. Then, in step526, the network 104 sends a corresponding termination message (alsocalled a Release Message) to the second subscriber station 108 b afterthe network 104 receives the termination message from the firstsubscriber station 108 a. The network releases the second communicationchannel with its attendant resources that was allocated to the secondsubscriber station 108 b. Thus, the messages of steps 524 and 526 aretriggered automatically. Upon receipt of the ringing message from thenetwork 104, the termination messages of steps 524 and 526 are triggeredwithout the aid of the first user. The termination messages of steps 524and 526 release resources allocated for the communication channelsbetween the first subscriber station 108 a and the second subscriberstation 108 b.

In step 528, the call attempt is terminated at the second subscriberstation 108 b and the second subscriber station 108 b stops ringing whenthe termination message from the network 104 is received. In anembodiment, a display on the second subscriber station 108 b displays amessage indicating a missed call from the first subscriber station 108a. In another embodiment, a message indicating a missed call from thefirst subscriber station 108 a is announced by a speaker on the secondsubscriber station.

FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a CDMAcommunications system, wherein the first user only wants to ring thesecond user and a call is terminated automatically. In this embodiment,signaling messages are changed in order to implement automatictermination of a call. In step 412, when the first user determines thathe only wants to ring the second user, a flag is set indicating that thefirst user is only ringing the second user. The flag can be encodedwithin the call message.

In at least one exemplary embodiment of the communications system, thefirst user indicates via a user interface on the first subscriberstation 108 a that a ring of the second user and not a call of thesecond user is to be performed. That is, the second user is to be rungand not called.

In at least one exemplary embodiment of the communications system, thefirst user indicates that the second user will be rung with a mechanismactivated while dialing the number of the second user. In anotherexemplary embodiment of the communications system, the first userindicates that the second user will be rung with a mechanism separatefrom dialing the number of the second user. The mechanism distinguishesbetween the case wherein the first user wants to talk to the second userand the case wherein the first user wants only to ring the second user.In at least one exemplary embodiment of the communications system, themechanism is at least one button to be depressed. In another exemplaryembodiment, the mechanism is at least one key to be depressed. Inanother exemplary embodiment, the mechanism is at least one voicecommand to be issued in a voice enabled subscriber station. In at leastone exemplary embodiment, the mechanism is implemented via a Webinterface on the first subscriber station 108 a. If the mechanism isenabled, a pending call will automatically be terminated.

In step 614, the network 104 receives the request for call origination,i.e., the call message. In an embodiment, the network 104 receives anindication that the user only wants to ring the second user in the callmessage. In another embodiment, the network 104 receives an indicationthat the user only wants to ring the second user in a message other thanthe call message. At this point, the network 104 can determine from theindication (hereinafter called a ring-only indication) that there is noneed to send a ringing message to the first subscriber station 108 a.The network 104 finds the second user in a register of users and sends aring-only indication to the second user. That is, the network 104 sendsa call notification message (also called a Paging Message) to the seconduser that the second user is to be rung only. There is no need toallocate communication channels with their attendant resources since thenetwork 104 knows that the second user is to be rung only.

In step 616, the second subscriber station 108 b receives the incomingring-only indication and begins ringing. An enabled caller ID feature onthe second subscriber station 108 b enables the first user's identity tobe displayed on the second subscriber station 108 b. In an embodiment,the captured identity of the caller is displayed on a display of thesecond subscriber station. In another embodiment, the captured identityof the caller is announced by a speaker on the second subscriberstation.

In step 618, the second subscriber station 108 b sends a confirmationmessage (also called a Page Response Message) to the network 104. Theconfirmation message indicates that the second subscriber station 108 backnowledges the second subscriber station's 108 b receipt of theincoming ring-only indication.

In an embodiment, the network is not required to send a ringing message(also called an Alert with Information Message) to the first subscriberstation 108 a, thereby saving bandwidth in a communication channel fromthe network 104 to the first subscriber station 108 a. Alternatively,the network may send a ringing message to the first subscriber station108 a.

Upon receipt of the confirmation message, the network 104 de-allocatesthe first communication channel with its attendant resources to thefirst subscriber station 108 a and de-allocates the second communicationchannel with its attendant resources to the second subscriber station108 b.

FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram of a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)communications system, wherein a media session is created between afirst user on a first subscriber station and a second user on a secondsubscriber station. In a SIP communications system, communicationsbetween two subscriber units is established through a proxy server. Aproxy server acts as an intermediary to ensure security betweensubscriber units. The communication link between a subscriber unit canbe a wire line communication link or a wireless communication link.

In step 712, the first user 108 a originates a call (also called aninvite) to a second user. The call includes details of the type of amedia session that is requested by the first user. The types of mediasessions that could be requested include, but are not limited to anaudio session, a video session, and a multimedia session, for example.The call is originated by the first user 108 a dialing the number of thesecond user 108 b. Thus, a call message is created and sent to a proxyserver 704. A proxy server 704 is a server that acts as an intermediarybetween a first subscriber station 108 a and a second subscriber station108 b.

In step 714, the proxy server 704 receives the request for callorigination, i.e., the call message. The proxy server 704 finds thesecond user in a register of users and sends a page to the second user.That is, the proxy server 704 sends a call notification message (alsocalled an invite) to the second user that there is an incoming voicecall for the second user.

In step 715, a Channel Assignment Message is sent from the proxy server704 to the first subscriber station 108 a. The Channel AssignmentMessage assigns the first communication channel to the first subscriberstation 108 a.

In step 716, the second subscriber station 108 b receives the incomingcall notification message and begins ringing. Thus, the proxy server 704allocates a first communication channel with its attendant resources tothe first subscriber station 108 a and allocates a second communicationchannel with its attendant resources to the second subscriber station108 b.

In step 718, the second subscriber station 108 b sends a ringing messageto the proxy server 704. The ringing message indicates that the secondsubscriber station 108 b is ringing. In step 720, once the proxy server704 receives the ringing message from the second subscriber station 108b, the proxy server 704 sends a ringing message to the first subscriberstation 108 a. In step 722, a ringing tone is generated on the firstsubscriber station 108 a upon the first subscriber station's receipt ofthe ringing message and therefore the first user hears the ringing tone.Commonly, this means for the first user that the second user'ssubscriber station is ringing.

When the second user accepts the call, in step 730, the secondsubscriber station 108 b sends a confirmation message (also called anO.K. message) to the proxy server 704. The confirmation messageindicates that the second user on the second subscriber station 108 bhas answered the call.

Once the proxy server 704 receives the confirmation message from thesecond subscriber station 108 b, the proxy server 704 determines thatthat the first user and the second user can communicate directly.Therefore, in step 732, the proxy server 704 sends a confirmationmessage to the first user.

In step 736, an acknowledgment that acknowledges the receipt of theconfirmation message is sent directly from the first subscriber station108 a to the second subscriber station 108 b. In step 738, once thesecond subscriber station 108 b receives the acknowledgment, a mediasession is created between the first subscriber station 108 a and thesecond subscriber station 108 b and the first user 108 a and the seconduser 108 b can communicate with each other directly.

FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a SIPcommunications system, wherein the first user only wants to ring thesecond user and a call is terminated automatically. In this embodiment,no changes to the air interface or to signaling messages are required inorder to implement automatic termination of a call.

In step 812, the first user 108 a originates a call (called an invite)that will ring the second user and will automatically be terminated uponthe ringing of the second subscriber station 108 b. The call includesdetails of the type of a media session that is requested by the firstuser. The types of media sessions that could be requested include, butare not limited to an audio session, a video session, and a multimediasession, for example. The call is originated by the first user 108 adialing the number of the second user 108 b. The first user 108indicates on the user interface of the first subscriber station 108 athat the call will automatically be terminated upon the ringing of thesecond subscriber station 108 b. Thus, a call message is created andsent to a proxy server 804, but the first subscriber station 108 a hasalready identified the ongoing attempted call as a call that willautomatically be terminated upon the ringing of the second subscriberstation 108 b. The identification of the ongoing attempted call as acall that will automatically be terminated occurs on the firstsubscriber station and is not indicated in the call message sent to theproxy server 804.

In step 814, the proxy server 804 receives the request for callorigination, i.e., the call message. The proxy server 804 finds thesecond user in a register of users and sends a page to the second user.That is, the proxy server 804 sends a notification (also called aninvite) to the second user that there is an incoming voice call for thesecond user. In step 815, the proxy server 704 allocates a firstcommunication channel with its attendant resources to the firstsubscriber station 108 a and allocates a second communication channelwith its attendant resources to the second subscriber station 108 b.

In step 816, the second subscriber station 108 b receives the incomingcall notification message and begins ringing. An enabled caller IDfeature on the second subscriber station 108 b enables the first user'sidentity to be displayed on the second subscriber station 108 b. In anembodiment, the captured identity of the caller is displayed on adisplay of the second subscriber station. Alternatively, the capturedidentity of the caller is announced by a speaker on the secondsubscriber station.

In step 818, the second subscriber station 108 b sends a ringing messageto the proxy server 704. The ringing message indicates that the secondsubscriber station 108 b is ringing. In step 820, once the proxy server704 receives the ringing message from the second subscriber station 108b, the proxy server 704 sends a ringing message to the first subscriberstation 108 a. In step 822, a ringing tone is generated on the firstsubscriber station 108 a upon the first subscriber station's receipt ofthe ringing message and therefore the first user hears the ringing tone.Commonly, this means for the first user that the second user'ssubscriber station is ringing.

In an embodiment, a ringing tone is generated on the first subscriberstation 108 a upon the first subscriber station's receipt of the ringingmessage and the first user hears the ringing tone in step 822. Commonly,this means for the first user that the second user's subscriber stationis ringing. In another embodiment, a ringing tone is not generated onthe first subscriber station 108 a upon the first subscriber station's108 a receipt of the ringing message in step 822.

In step 824, a termination message (called a Cancel) is generated at thefirst subscriber station 108 a and sent to the proxy server 804 withoutrequiring any action by the first user 108 a. Upon receipt of thetermination message, the proxy server 904 de-allocates the firstcommunication channel with its attendant resources to the firstsubscriber station 108 a and de-allocates the second communicationchannel with its attendant resources to the second subscriber station108 b.

Then, in step 826, the proxy server 804 sends a correspondingtermination message (also called a Cancel) to the second subscriberstation 108 b after the proxy server 804 receives the terminationmessage from the first subscriber station 108 a. Thus, the messages ofsteps 824 and 826 are triggered automatically. Upon receipt of theringing message from the proxy server 804, the termination messages ofsteps 824 and 826 are triggered without the aid of the first user.

In step 828, the call attempt is terminated at the second subscriberstation 108 b and the second subscriber station 108 b stops ringing whenthe termination message from the proxy server 804 is received. In anembodiment, a display on the second subscriber station 108 b displays amessage indicating a missed call from the first subscriber station 108a. In another embodiment, a message indicating a missed call from thefirst subscriber station 108 a is announced by a speaker on the secondsubscriber station.

FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a SIPcommunications system, wherein the first user only wants to ring thesecond user and a call is terminated automatically.

In this embodiment, signaling messages are changed in order to implementautomatic termination of a call. In step 912, the first user 108 aoriginates a call (also called an invite) that will ring the second userand will automatically be terminated upon the ringing of the secondsubscriber station 108 b. In step 912, when the first user determinesthat he only wants to ring the second user, a flag is set indicatingthat the first user is only ringing the second user. The flag can beencoded within the call message.

In at least one exemplary embodiment of the communications system, thefirst user indicates via a user interface on the first subscriberstation 108 a that a ring of the second user and not a call of thesecond user is to be performed. That is, the second user is to be rungand not called.

In at least one exemplary embodiment of the communications system, thefirst user indicates that the second user will be rung with a mechanismactivated while dialing the number of the second user. In anotherexemplary embodiment of the communications system, the first userindicates that the second user will be rung with a mechanism separatefrom dialing the number of the second user. The mechanism distinguishesbetween the case wherein the first user wants to talk to the second userand the case wherein the first user wants only to ring the second user.In at least one exemplary embodiment of the communications system, themechanism is at least one button to be depressed. In another exemplaryembodiment, the mechanism is at least one key to be depressed. Inanother exemplary embodiment, the mechanism is at least one voicecommand to be issued in a voice enabled subscriber station. In at leastone exemplary embodiment, the mechanism is implemented via a Webinterface on the first subscriber station 108 a. If the mechanism isenabled, a pending call will automatically be terminated.

In step 914, the proxy server 904 receives the call message. In anembodiment, the proxy server 904 receives an indication that the useronly wants to ring the second user in the call message. In anotherembodiment, the proxy server 904 receives an indication that the useronly wants to ring the second user in a message other than the callmessage. At this point, the proxy server 904 can determine from theindication (hereinafter called a ring-only indication) that there is noneed to send a ringing message to the first subscriber station 108 a.The proxy server 904 finds the second user in a register of users andsends a ring-only indication to the second user. That is, the proxyserver 904 sends a call notification message (also called an invite) tothe second user that the second user is to be rung only. There is noneed to allocate communication channels with their attendant resourcessince the proxy server 904 knows that the second user is to be rungonly.

In step 918, the second subscriber station 108 b sends a confirmationmessage (also called a Page Response Message) to the proxy server 904.The confirmation message indicates that the second subscriber station108 b acknowledges the second subscriber station's 108 b receipt of theincoming ring-only indication.

The network is not required to send a ringing message to the firstsubscriber station 108 a, thereby saving bandwidth in a communicationchannel from the proxy server 904 to the first subscriber station 108 a.

In an embodiment, the first subscriber station includes a callorigination unit, a receive unit, and a terminating unit. Theorigination unit originates a call by sending a call message. Thereceive unit receives a response message to the call message. Theterminating unit automatically terminates the call. Those of skill inthe art would understand that these units could be combined withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

An alternative to the first subscriber station automatically terminatingthe call is an embodiment, wherein the second subscriber stationautomatically terminates the call responsive to an indication from thefirst subscriber station that the call is a ring-only call. Therefore,the second subscriber station includes a terminating unit forautomatically terminating the call, in addition to including a receiveunit that receives the indication that the call is a ring-only call.

FIG. 10 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of acommunications system, wherein an indication of automatic calltermination is indicated in a message and a second subscriber stationterminates a call.

In this embodiment, signaling messages are changed in order to implementautomatic termination of a call. In step 1012, when the first userdetermines that he only wants to ring the second user, a flag is setindicating that the first user is only ringing the second user. The flagcan be encoded within the call message.

In at least one exemplary embodiment of the communications system, thefirst user indicates via a user interface on the first subscriberstation 108 a that a ring of the second user and not a call of thesecond user is to be performed. That is, the second user is to be rungand not called.

In at least one exemplary embodiment of the communications system, thefirst user indicates that the second user will be rung with a mechanismactivated while dialing the number of the second user. In anotherexemplary embodiment of the communications system, the first userindicates that the second user will be rung with a mechanism separatefrom dialing the number of the second user. The mechanism distinguishesbetween the case wherein the first user wants to talk to the second userand the case wherein the first user wants only to ring the second user.In at least one exemplary embodiment of the communications system, themechanism is at least one button to be depressed. In another exemplaryembodiment, the mechanism is at least one key to be depressed. Inanother exemplary embodiment, the mechanism is at least one voicecommand to be issued in a voice enabled subscriber station. In at leastone exemplary embodiment, the mechanism is implemented via a Webinterface on the first subscriber station 108 a. If the mechanism isenabled, a pending call will automatically be terminated.

In step 1014, the network 104 receives the call message. In anembodiment, the network 104 receives an indication that the user onlywants to ring the second user in the call message. In anotherembodiment, the network 104 receives an indication that the user onlywants to ring the second user in a message other than the call message.At this point, the network 104 can determine from the indication(hereinafter called a ring-only indication) that there is no need tosend a ringing message to the first subscriber station 108 a. Thenetwork 104 finds the second user in a register of users and sends aring-only indication to the second user. That is, the network 104 sendsa notification to the second user that the second user is to be rungonly.

In step 1016, the second subscriber station 108 b receives the incomingring-only indication and begins ringing. An enabled caller ID feature onthe second subscriber station 108 b enables the first user's identity tobe displayed on the second subscriber station 108 b. In an embodiment,the captured identity of the caller is displayed on a display of thesecond subscriber station. In another embodiment, the captured identityof the caller is announced by a speaker on the second subscriberstation.

In step 1018, the second subscriber station 108 b sends a terminatingmessage to the network 104. The terminating message indicates that thesecond subscriber station 108 b acknowledges the second subscriberstation's 108 b receipt of the incoming ring-only indication and thatthe network terminates the call.

In an embodiment, the network is not required to send a ringing messageto the first subscriber station 108 a, thereby saving bandwidth in acommunication channel from the network 104 to the first subscriberstation 108 a. Alternatively, the network may send a ringing message tothe first subscriber station 108 a.

Those of skill in the art would also understand that a “ringing” of thesecond subscriber station does not have to be an aural ringing of thesecond subscriber station. Those of skill in the art would alsounderstand that a “ringing” can be any indication on the secondsubscriber station that alerts the second user that an incoming call hasbeen received. For example, a “ringing” can be a visual ringing, wherebytext indicating ringing would be displayed on the display of the secondsubscriber station. Another example of a “ringing” can be a physicalvibration of the second subscriber station indicating that the seconduser that an incoming call has be received.

Those of skill in the art would understand that method steps could beinterchanged without departing from the scope of the invention. Those ofskill in the art would also understand that information and signalsmight be represented using any of a variety of different technologiesand techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrativelogical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented aselectronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. Toclearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software,various illustrative components, blocks, modules, and steps have beendescribed above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether suchfunctionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon theparticular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality invarying ways for each particular application, but such implementationdecisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from thescope of the present invention.

The various illustrative logical blocks and modules described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented orperformed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor(DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device,discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with theembodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in asoftware module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two.A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory,EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, aCD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Anexemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processorcan read information from, and write information to, the storage medium.In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor.The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC mayreside in a subscriber station. In the alternative, the processor andthe storage medium may reside as discrete components in a subscriberstation.

The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided toenable any person skilled in the art to make or use the presentinvention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles definedherein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is notintended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novelfeatures disclosed herein.

1. A method of communications, comprising: originating a call andindicating termination of the call wherein originating the call includessending a call message, the call message including indicatingtermination of the call and details of a media session type, wherein adetermination to automatically terminate the call is made prior to thecall origination; and terminating automatically the call responsive tothe indicated termination of the call wherein terminating automaticallyoccurs once the originating call is received.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising receiving a response message to the call, whereinterminating automatically the call is responsive to the indicatedtermination of the call and the received response message.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein the received response message indicates ringing. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein the method of communications is a methodof Session Initiation Protocol communications, originating a callincludes sending an invite message, and terminating automatically thecall responsive to the indicated termination of the call includessending a cancel message.
 5. A method of communications, comprising:sending a call message that initiates a call and includes details of amedia session type; sending a call notification message responsive tothe call message, the call notification message providing notificationof the call; sending a confirmation message responsive to the callnotification message, the confirmation message confirming receipt of thecall notification message; sending automatically a termination messageresponsive to the confirmation message, wherein a determination toautomatically send the termination message is made prior to the callinitiation.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising allocating acommunication channel.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein allocating acommunication channel includes sending a channel assignment messageresponsive to the call message, the channel assignment message assigningthe communication channel.
 8. The method of claim 6, further comprisingdeallocating the communication channel responsive to receiving thetermination message.
 9. The method of claim 6, further comprisingdeallocating the communication channel responsive to receiving theconfirmation message.
 10. A method of communications, comprising:receiving a message that initiates a call with an indication toterminate the call and details of a media session type; and terminatingthe call responsive to receiving the message that initiates the callwith an indication to terminate the call wherein the indication toterminate the call is automatically transmitted with the message thatinitiates the call, and further wherein a determination to automaticallyterminate the call is made prior to the call initiation.
 11. A method ofcommunications, comprising: receiving a call message that initiates acall and includes details of a media session type; receiving anindication that the call is a ring-only call; sending a callnotification message responsive to the call message, the callnotification message providing notification of the call; and sendingautomatically a termination message responsive to the indication thatthe call is a ring-only call, the termination message terminating thecall, wherein a determination to automatically terminate the call ismade prior to the call initiation.
 12. A subscriber station, comprising:a call origination unit configured to originate a call, indicatetermination of the call, and include details of a media session type;and a terminating unit configured to terminate the call automaticallywherein the originated call is automatically terminated once theoriginated call is received and the originated call includes andindication to terminate the call, wherein a determination toautomatically terminate the call is made prior to the call initiation.13. A subscriber station, comprising: means for originating a call;means for indicating termination of the call and details of a mediasession type; and means for terminating the call automatically once theoriginated call is received by a subscriber station, wherein adetermination to automatically terminate the call is made prior to thecall initiation.
 14. The subscriber station of claim 12, wherein theterminating unit is configured to terminate the call automaticallyresponsive to an indicated termination of the call.
 15. The subscriberstation of claim 12, wherein the terminating unit is configured toterminate the call automatically responsive to an indication of ringing.16. The subscriber station of claim 12, further comprising a receiveunit configured to receive a response message to the call.
 17. Thesubscriber station of claim 16, wherein the subscriber station isconfigured to terminate the call automatically responsive to receiving aresponse message to the call.
 18. A subscriber station, comprising: areceive unit that receives a message that initiates a call with anindication to terminate the call and details of a media session type; aterminating unit that automatically terminates the call responsive toreceiving the message that initiates the call with an indication toterminate the call, wherein a determination to automatically terminatethe call is made prior to the call initiation.
 19. A subscriber station,comprising: means for receiving a message that initiates a call with anindication to automatically terminate the call and details of a mediasession type; means for terminating the call responsive to receiving themessage that initiates the call with an indication to automaticallyterminate the call, wherein a determination to automatically terminatethe call is made prior to the call initiation.